The Summer Girls: The Lowcountry Summer Trilogy, Book 1

Three sisters reunite on Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina after years of separation in this heartwarming first novel in a new trilogy from a beloved author. 80-year-old Marietta Muir is a dowager of Charleston society who has retired to her historic summer home on Sullivan’s Island. At the onset of summer, Marietta - "Mamaw" - seeks to gather her three granddaughters - Carson, Eudora, and Harper - with the intent to reunite them after years apart.

Slightly South of Simple: Peachtree Bluff, Book 1

Caroline Murphy swore she'd never set foot back in the small Southern town of Peachtree Bluff; she was a New York girl born and bred and the worst day of her life was when, in the wake of her father's death, her mother selfishly forced her to move - during her senior year of high school, no less - back to that hick-infested rat trap where she'd spent her childhood summers.

The Identicals: A Novel

Harper Frost is laid back, easygoing. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. She likes a beer and a shot and wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything fashionable. She's inherited her father's run-down house on Martha's Vineyard, but she can't hold down a job, and her latest romantic disaster has the entire island talking. Tabitha Frost is dignified, refined. She prefers a fine wine and has inherited the impeccable taste of her mother, the iconic fashion designer Eleanor Roxie-Frost.

The Beach at Painter's Cove: A Novel

The Whitaker family's Connecticut mansion, Muses by the Sea, has always been a haven for artists, a hotbed of creativity, extravagances, and the occasional scandal. Art patrons for generations, the Whitakers supported strangers but drained the life out of each other. Now, after being estranged for years, four generations of Whitaker women find themselves once again at the Muses. Leo, the Whitaker matriarch, lives in the rambling mansion.

Secrets in Summer: A Novel

Memorial Day weekend means that seasonal visitors have descended on the glamorous island of Nantucket. For year-round resident Darcy Cotterill, it means late-night stargazing in the backyard of the beautiful house she grew up in and inherited from her beloved grandmother. It's also Darcy's chance to hit the beach and meet her new summertime neighbors. But the last person the thirty-year-old librarian expects to see staying next door is her ex-husband, Boyz, along with his wife, Autumn, and stepdaughter, Willow.

The Forever Summer

Marin Bishop has always played by the rules, and it's paid off: On the cusp of 30, she has a handsome fiancé, a prestigious Manhattan legal career, and her father's hard-won admiration. But with one careless mistake at work, Marin suddenly finds herself unemployed and alone. Before she can summon the courage to tell her parents, a young woman appears, claiming to be Marin's half sister. Seeking answers, Marin agrees to join her on a soul-searching journey to Cape Cod, to meet the family she didn't even know she had.

The Night the Lights Went Out

Recently divorced, Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves with her two children to the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Apple, Georgia. It's not her first time starting over, but her efforts at a new beginning aren't helped by an anonymous local blog that dishes about the scandalous events that caused her marriage to fail.

Sweetgrass

Sweetgrass is a historic tract of land in South Carolina that has been home to the Blakely family for eight generations. But Sweetgrass — named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area — is in trouble. Taxes are skyrocketing. Bulldozers are leveling the surrounding properties. And the Blakelys could be forced to sell the one thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together.

Lost and Found Sisters

After losing her sister in a devastating car accident, chef Quinn Weller is finally getting her life back on track. She appears to have it all: a loving family, a dream job in one of LA's hottest eateries, and a gorgeous boyfriend dying to slip an engagement ring on her finger. So why does she feel so empty, like she's looking for a missing piece she can't find?

Sweet Tea Tuesdays

When new next-door neighbors Georgia, Midge, and Lula first assembled on Georgia's porch in Charleston for sweet tea, they couldn't have known their gathering was the beginning of a treasured tradition. For 26 years they have met on Tuesdays at four o'clock, watching the seasons change and their children grow up, supporting each other in good times and in bad. With their ambitions as different as their personalities, these best friends anticipate many more years of tea time.

Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

Kelly Murphy's life as a tulip farmer is pretty routine - up at dawn, off to work, lather, rinse, repeat. But everything changes one sun-washed summer with two dramatic homecomings: Griffith Burnett - Tulpen Crossing's prodigal son, who's set his sights on Kelly - and Olivia, her beautiful, wayward, and, as far as Kelly is concerned, unwelcome sister. Tempted by Griffith, annoyed by Olivia, Kelly is overwhelmed by the secrets that were so easy to keep when she was alone.

The Land of Mango Sunsets

Meet Miriam Elizabeth Swanson, in a full-blown snit, buoyed by a fabulous cast who run the gamut from insufferable to wonderful. First is the arrival of Liz Harper, Miriam's tenant from Birmingham, who sets a new cycle in motion. Then her other tenant, Kevin, a stalwart companion with more style than Cary Grant, shakes Miriam out of her fog to see which battles are worth the fight. Next, her estranged son announces he's marrying a Jamaican woman. And what about her ex-husband, Charles, and that sordid lingerie model of his?

Ten Beach Road

Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are strangers to each other, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover their life savings have vanished, along with their trusted financial manager - leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house. Throwing their lots in together, they take on the challenge of restoring the historic property. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, secrets threaten to tear down their trust.

Breakfast at the Beach House Hotel

When Ann Rutherford's husband dumps her for the bimbo in his office, unfairly leaving her without a home or a job, she reluctantly joins forces with Rhonda DelMonte to convert Rhonda's Florida seaside estate into the small upscale hotel it once was. Ann, quiet and reserved, is no match for brash, bossy Rhonda, who left the family's New Jersey butcher business after she won the Florida lottery.

The Four Seasons

They are the Season sisters, bound by blood, driven apart by a tragedy. Now they are about to embark on a bittersweet journey into the unknown — an odyssey of promise and forgiveness, of loss and rediscovery.

The Book of Summer: A Novel

Physician Bess Codman has returned to her family's Nantucket compound, Cliff House, for the first time in four years. Her great-grandparents built Cliff House almost a century before, but due to erosion, the once-grand home will soon fall into the sea. Though she's purposefully avoided the island, Bess must now pack up the house and deal with her mother, a notorious town rabble-rouser, who refuses to leave.

Come Sundown

The Bodine ranch and resort in western Montana is a family business, an idyllic spot for vacationers. A little over thirty thousand acres and home to four generations, it's kept running by Bodine Longbow with the help of a large staff, including new hire Callen Skinner. There was another member of the family once: Bodine's aunt, Alice, who ran off before Bodine was born. She never returned, and the Longbows don't talk about her much. The younger ones, who never met her, quietly presume she's dead.

Publisher's Summary

Caretta Rutledge thought she’d left her Southern roots and troubled family far behind. But an unusual request from her mother – coming just as her own life is spinning out of control – has Cara heading back to the scenic Lowcountry of her childhood summers.

Before long, the rhythms of the island open her heart in wonderful ways as she repairs the family beach house, becomes a bona fide “turtle lady” and renews old acquaintances long thought lost. But it is in reconnecting with her mother that she will learn life’s most precious lessons – true love involves sacrifice, family is forever and the mistakes of the past can be forgiven.

This is the first book I have read by Mary Alice Monroe. It's pretty vanilla as contemporary romance goes, with an old-fashioned approach to the telling of a love story – no steamy sex scenes here. That could be good or bad, depending on what you like and your perspective. I found it refreshing. The story didn’t make me anxious to keep reading to see what would happen next, but it was enjoyable and definitely a feel-good book. If you like to watch movies on the Hallmark channel, I would recommend this book. But if you like a novel with highly developed characters with multiple dimensions and some edge, this would probably be a yawner for you.Also, if talented acting is important to you in narration, beware. While I liked the author's voice and it seemed good for the story, the delivery of some statements was odd. Since her voice was pleasant I didn't really mind.

The story line revealed much about life in the Isle of Palms and families who had images to live up to. The author did a fairly good job of defining the characters and building the tension for a resolve. I went into the book with no expectations and was pleasantly entertained and stayed engaged.

The story is good, interesting. Unfortunately the recording quality is very poor. You can hear every breath the narrator takes, hear her licking her lips and swallowing. I think I even heard a hiccup or some other bodily squeak. I don't blame the narrator, also the author. Obviously, every reader breathes, etc but you don't hear it in most narration. The production quality diminished the overall experience which takes away from a good story.

I would certainly listen to The Beach House again. Having grown up in the South and having spent a great deal of time at the beaches of North and South Carolina, I loved listening to Mary Alice Monroe's Low Country speech. She was not too syrupy but just right. Each character was distinguishable, which made listening to her seamless.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved seeing the interplay between Cara and Lovie -- questions, answers, peace at last.

This book had me captured from the very beginning. I could not stop listening and was sad when the story ended. I laughed aloud and cried tears of sadness. Cannot wait to go on to the next story in this series.

A lovely story of a family coming together over the illness of their mother, the secrets of the past and the turtles.I loved that the author read the story with her South Carolina drawl. It enhanced the story.A wonderful summertime read or anytime when you are longing for a beach trip. I felt like I was right there on the Carolina coast.

I enjoyed this warm and well crafted story. I enjoyed the turtles, the Rutledge family, and current issues woven in. My suggestion. The career conclusion could have been resolved with a meaningful application of her talents for the turtles at an ad agency in Charlestown. I look forward to reading the rest of talented Mary Alice Monroe's books!